For my 1st trip out there, I had a good time. I spent the entire 3 days stalking. The only things I came back with were sore feet and perhaps a 1/2 pint less of blood after the skeeters. I have never walked so far in the woods in my life and the skeeters in the morning were something to behold. I seen alot of hog sign and if you keep walking into the interior until you stop seeing boot tracks, you will start to see alot of deer sign as well. It was good getting a chance to meet up and chat with Budman and Pandaxmx while I was out there. I will surely be going back but only after we get a good cold front. I am done stalking miles thru a swamp in 80 deg temps.
Spent Saturday in the swamp in a tree stand all friggen day 🙁
Got my new 30.06 and got in the tree nice an early, only thing I got were a couple dozen skeeters, till I turned on the Thermocell (which i accidentally kicked off the stand at 2pm FRACK)
Only saw 2 hunters who friggen walked down the firebreak 50yds from my stand, who saw me and still kept walking, then turned around and walked back by. not giving a rats bottom that they were f'ing up my hunt.
Stayed on the stand till just after 5:30, when my butt gave out. Got to get a more comfortable stand if Im going do this again....
All in all when I drove out, 1 deer and 10 hogs taken 🙁 it is really sad when the hunting sucks at the swamp.
If I had money to afford a lease I would give up WMA's but since I cant, Im stuck huntting with bubba the idiot, and competing with poachers @#$%^&*()_
Only saw 2 hunters who friggen walked down the firebreak 50yds from my stand, who saw me and still kept walking, then turned around and walked back by. not giving a rats bottom that they were f'ing up my hunt.
I have to ask you guys what is the protocol on something like this. It seems the best way to get into the interior is to use the firebreaks or service roads. I would always try and use a firebreak or service road that had no trucks parked in front of it. Problem I ran into was I would see 4 or 5 empty stands within the first 1/2 mile into the woods but would have to go another 1/2 mile to a mile further till I started to see real good sign. If I wanted to come back and hunt what I determine to be the "good areas" I would have to walk in front of multiple people stand hunting.
I had a few instances where I did park at a break with a couple of other trucks already there and started to walk in but would back out as soon as I would see somebody. Thats was ok with me because I was just stalking but if I had a stand pulled way back into the interior, I am afarid I would have to piss somebody off and walk on through.
If I see a vehicle parked in front of a fire break, I hunt elsewhere. period no questions.
I also dont leave my climber in the woods, unless I am taking a lunchbreak, and then I just walk back to my truck at the end of the firebreak, and eat there. When I am ready I will walk back to my stand. But the stand goes in and out with me, so I wont muck up someones hunt.
btw, while walking out to my spot I saw a ladder stand along the trail it was empty. (its very bad form to get in someone elses stand, so dont do it, without permission of course).
When I found the spot I wanted to hunt, I got in my stand and climbed the tree. Funny thing was after about 2 hours I noticed another climber stand not 50 yards from mine, and it was at the bottom of the tree. (good way to get your stand stolen if you ask me.) Of course I did not mess with or even aproach that stand, I just stayed on mine all day.
i hunt close enough to see hunters walkn fire breaks at times an its something thats just gona happen.it only bothers me if they stop an start talkn loud or hangn out..ive walkd past plenty of hunters while on firebreaks an have had plenty do it to me as well..ive actually shot game while hunters are goin by..i just always put the firebreak to my back so that i dont notice many of the hunters goin by..
